Mejia, Allard among IL All-Star selections

The Triple-A All-Star Game returns to International League soil next month, and the circuit will be ready with a talent-laden squad.
A pair of MLB.com top-100 prospects -- Cleveland catcher Francisco Mejía (No. 17 overall), who will be playing at his home park in Columbus, and Braves lefty Kolby Allard (No. 51) -- will lead the IL squad against their Pacific Coast League counterparts on July 11, the circuit announced Wednesday.

Toledo outfielder Christin Stewart, Detroit's No. 5 prospect, and Buffalo catcher Danny Jansen, Toronto's No. 6, highlight the list of starting position players selected for the contest, alongside pitchers Enyel De Los Santos of Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia No. 11) and Jalen Beeks of Pawtucket (Boston No. 15). Stewart's 15 home runs lead the IL, while his 45 RBIs are tied for second with another All-Star, Columbus outfielder Brandon Barnes. Jansen's .413 on-base percentage is the second-best mark in the circuit, while his .299 average checks in tied for eighth.
View the complete International League All-Star Roster »
De Los Santos is the league's ERA leader with a 1.73 mark through his first 14 starts this year. The right-hander is third in the loop with a 1.07 WHIP and .205 opponents' average and fourth with 85 strikeouts and 83 1/3 innings pitched. Beeks leads the IL in three of those categories -- strikeouts (101), WHIP (1.00) and opponents' average (.201) -- while sitting third with his 2.40 ERA through 13 outings.

Mejia and Allard are both among the league's selections as reserves. Mejia has batted .261/.310/.402 in his first Triple-A season while catching and playing left field for the Clippers. Allard boasts a 5-2 record and 2.44 ERA, one spot behind Beeks on the leaderboard, through 13 starts for Gwinnett.
Indianapolis middle infielder Kevin Newman, Pittsburgh's No. 7 prospect, brings his league-leading 18 stolen bases into the showcase game, along with No. 10 Baltimore prospect DJ Stewart, who has hit at a .273/.372/.464 rate through 55 games as a Norfolk outfielder.
Stingy relievers Cody Carroll (the Yankees' No. 15 prospect) and Ian Gibaut (Rays No. 29) anchor the IL bullpen. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre righty has finished 19 games in his 24 appearances, converting seven of nine save chances, while Durham's right-hander boasts the lowest opponents' average among relievers at .156.
The league's top nine hitters by average are included on the roster, along with five of the six circuit front-runners in ERA.
The Pacific Coast League is expected to announce its rosters Thursday. The game will be streamed live on MiLB.TV, starting at 7 p.m. ET.